34 OCTOBER 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL National Spaghetti Day brings us back to the founding fathers because, according to the lore around this holiday, Thomas Jefferson popularized pasta in the 18th century. As someone who grew up around my extended family in small-town America, where everyone knew everyone else, where we all attended the same schools and churches, and spoke the same language, I knew who I was and where I belonged even as a young child. Fast-forwarding to now—as a mother who is raising her children in the opposite environment—I often wonder how, separated from the networks and influences that I relied on as a child, my children will know who they are and where they are from. Will they know where they belong? The short answer is yes, they will. However, their sense of place and identity may be a little different and certainly broader than the narrow construct of “American” I grew up with. For example, my children know they are from America and that their families come from America, but America is an abstract concept for them. You see, my children have spent most of their lives overseas; and, so far, most of their formative memories have been made outside the United States. For them, “America” is a place they go to visit family and friends during the summers and holidays and sometimes both in a good year. Their concept of “home” is wherever in the world we happen to be, and it has become more about people than a place. My children are more accurately described as “global citizens,” or third culture kids (TCKs), who are comfortable in diverse, multilingual, multiethnic environments, and who, despite their young ages, can be dropped in the middle of anywhere and will immediately dive in, adapt, and thrive. However, for us the parents, whose roots and ties are still very America-centric, it is important that our children know this part of themselves, as well, and feel as comfortable in the United States as they do out in the world. So how do we do this with our children? For starters, we began reading books about American history and culture to our children when they were very young. Holidays … and Other Cultural Events We celebrated traditional American holidays in a big way and even observed some of the more modern, obscure, and wacky unofficial holidays like National Spaghetti Day on Jan. 4, National Yo-Yo Day on June 6, National Waffle Day on Aug. 24, and National Donut Day on Nov. 5, among others. While not “real” holidays, they create a space for us to have fun with the kids in a different way and to also explore the origins of the holidays we celebrate. For example, National Spaghetti Day brings us back to the founding fathers because, according to the lore around this holiday, Thomas Jefferson popularized pasta in the 18th century. We also learned that spaghetti was introduced to broader American society by Italian immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. Once spaghetti was adopted into American culture, it secured its place as the popular and beloved dish it is today. This one holiday alone created an opportunity for conversations with our children about the founding fathers, the origins of At a local library during a summer R&R visit to the United States, the author’s children learn about reptiles and amphibians indigenous to the American Northeast. COURTESY OF LIA MILLER
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=